In New Ad, Samsung Takes Aim at Apple ‘Screen Envy’

Does Samsung Electronics fear the likely arrival of a jumbo-sized iPhone 6?

If so, it’s not letting on. In its latest advertisement, the South Korean technology giant turns the table on Apple’s boosters, many of whom are on the outside looking in amid Samsung’s runaway success selling oversized smartphone-tablet hybrids to consumers. In the 30-second ad, dubbed “Screen Envy”and uploaded to YouTube this week by Samsung’s U.S. mobile division, an Apple fan gushes about rumors of an expected large-screen iPhone 6 — only to be brushed off by his friend, who’s already toting a Samsung phablet.

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“But maybe you just like waiting,” the narrator taunts, before segueing into Samsung’s now familiar “The Next Big Thing Is Here” tagline.

The ad attempts to cleverly redirect anticipation for Apple’s coming iPhone 6 launch, which is expected in the coming months, and which will come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Apple’s Asian suppliers are already gearing up for a sales bonanza, with Apple ordering up an initial production run of between 70 million and 80 million devices — significantly larger than the initial order for the iPhone 5.

For Samsung, that is likely to mean the loss of a major differentiator between its high-end smartphones and those of its Cupertino, Calif. rival. Since Samsung launched its oversized phablets, dubbed the Galaxy Note, it has seized much of the momentum from Apple, which stuck to a four-inch diagonal screen for its iPhone 5 — even as consumers migrated to larger sizes.

With Apple likely to join Samsung, analysts are expecting a sales hit for Samsung. But the Suwon, South Korea company isn’t sweating it. Instead, with the new ad, the company is taking the initiative and showing that it prefers to revel in the joy of saying “I told you so” to Apple partisans, who for many years ridiculed Samsung’s phablets — only to wait in anticipation as leaks and rumors have pointed to Apple doing the same.

You might want to expect more of the same in the run-up to Apple’s expected September launch. Earlier this month, Samsung tweaked Apple’s perceived battery life weakness, calling iPhone users “wall huggers” in an online clip that’s garnered nearly 15 million views on YouTube.